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Varsity Victory Volunteers: In Their Own Words DVD

It began with 169 determined young college students. Relive the remarkable story of University of Hawaii ROTC cadets of Japanese ancestry who were determined to dispel the cloud of distrust hovering over the Japanese community in Hawaii following Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Setting aside textbooks, pens and paper, they took up picks, shovels and hammers to prove that they–and their families–were loyal to the United States. Expelled from the Hawaii Territorial Guard, the young men petitioned the military governor overseeing Hawaii under martial law for the right to form a civilian labor battalion.

Their loyalty and patriotism impressed the Assistant Secretary of War, and soon thereafter President Franklin Roosevelt announced the formation of a Japanese American unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. To this day, the 442nd RCT is the most highly decorated unit, by size and length of service, in the history of the U.S. Army.